RUSTON, La. – On a Halloween afternoon in the Bayou State, Louisiana Tech played host to NM State Volleyball. The Aggies took the first two sets in short order before the Bulldogs mounted a rapid comeback in the third. Ultimately, three Aggies with double-digit kills helped end things in the fourth frame, granting the Crimson & White their third consecutive victory. With the win, NM State improved to 14-10 overall with a 7-4 record in Conference USA play.
 
Set-by-set: NM State wins 3-1 (25-15, 25-13, 20-25, 25-16)
 
FIRST SET
Two Bulldog aces quickly pushed them ahead 5-2 before Tess Fuqua answered with one of her own to lead a four-point service run. Louisiana native Katie Funk quickly teamed up with Jaelynn Kohli at the net, with the duo pairing for three combined blocks in the opening frame. Mia Fox's kill and block on consecutive points prompted the first timeout of the day with NM State ahead 12-8. Shortly after, a 6-0 Aggie run was highlighted by another rejection from Kohli and Funk alongside Fuqua's second ace of the afternoon. Maggie Lightheart's first ace of the day sent her right back to the service line for set point, where a setting Bianca Perez then dialed one up for a Kate Sinclair game-closing kill (25-15).
 
SECOND SET
Already established as one of the nation's best, Maggie Lightheart landed a trio of aces and a kill to command a 6-0 Aggie run that took her side from down one to up five (9-4). Fuqua followed up with a solo block before one of Lightheart's six second-set kills sent Makayla Martinez back to the line. The sophomore landed back-to-back perfect serves before Lightheart capped off the run with the visitors ahead 18-8. From that point, only one attack from either side resulted in an error. Fuqua notched another pair of kills before Bianca Perez entered ahead of her second consecutive set point. The senior then tallied her first ace since 2023 to hand her squad a comfortable 25-13 victory in a set that saw NM State hit .542.
 
THIRD SET
In a blink, NM State amassed another sizable advantage, pulling ahead 10-2. From that point, LA Tech ripped off a 23-10 run. Four Bulldog aces and seven Aggie attack errors plagued Mike Jordan's group during the stretch, but Katie Funk produced blocks on two straight rallies to stay afloat. Following Jaelynn Kohli's fourth kill of the stanza, LA Tech prevailed in six of the final eight points, taking its lone set at 25-20.
 
FOURTH SET
The visitors answered with a vengeance, dominating the early stages of game four. Kohli sandwiched two Lightheart kills with smashes of her own before joining in on Funk's sixth block of the day to pull ahead 6-0 and force a LA Tech stoppage. Nellie Reese hopped in on the fun with her first kill of the day before Kohli and Lightheart capped off the run ahead 11-2. A four-point swing showed potential signs of life from the side celebrating their seniors, but Tess Fuqua came through with a pair of kills to take control back at 17-9. Three more points from Lightheart, including an ace, swelled the lead before Kate Sinclair's offensive burst at 22-12. Fuqua's 11^th and final kill of the day brought match point at 24-16. Claudia Rossi queued up Lightheart one final time, clinching the second consecutive match via a back-row kill to end the day with 18 on a .471 hitting percentage. 
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• NM State now holds an all-time record of 23-1 against LA Tech, improving to 6-0 against the Bulldogs since joining CUSA in 2023. 
• The Aggies hit .336 on Friday, posting a season high to surpass their previous mark of .299 against Sam Houston.
• In a return to her home state, middle blocker Katie Funk put on a show. The Shreveport native landed two kills on a .667 hitting percentage, adding a team-best six blocks for her most in a single contest with the Aggies.
• Nellie Reese led the team with 24 assists and added 11 digs in the win, pacing her squad in assists for the 17^th time during her senior campaign.
• Eight days ago, Maggie Lightheart's career high was 18 kills in a single match. The junior has tallied that mark in three straight outings, posting 23 and 19 a week ago before a match-high 18 on Friday, hitting .471.
• The reigning CUSA Offensive Player of the Week also notched eight digs and five service aces, bringing her CUSA-best season total to 49.
• Makayla Martinez led the way with 18 digs in the win, pacing her club for the 13^th time this season. The sophomore also added three aces on Friday, tying her season high and bringing her yearly total to 24.
• Tess Fuqua was one of three Aggies to eclipse double digits in kills, posting 11 in four sets to match Jaelynn Kohli.
• The latter not only hit .375, but added five blocks in the win, bringing her CUSA total to 35, leading the team with 0.83 per set in such contests. 
• With one denial in Friday's win, freshman Kate Sinclair has now tallied at least one total block in 23 of 24 matches for NM State this season, only failing to do so in a Sept. 12 matchup with New Haven. 

• The Canadian only swung 11 times on Friday, but notched five errorless kills to hit .455.

 
FROM THE FLOOR
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the win: "We were really good for those first two sets. Then, in typical fashion with this group, we joined the circus in the third. Fortunately, we got it together in the fourth set. [Katie] Funk blocked it well today. I thought Maggie [Lightheart] and Jaelynn [Kohli] both scored at a good rate. We got a good performance out of Makayla [Martinez] as well."
 
Junior middle blocker, on her six-block outing: "I had a great time. I came in so excited to be back in Louisiana, see my friends, see my family and feel more at home. I felt pretty comfortable and familiar with the gym since I had played here before at camps in high school. I kept my focus strong on the game plan and blocking assignments, because those are the biggest things I needed to do to help make a difference while I was out there."
 
UP NEXT
The two sides will square off once again tomorrow as they open the month of November. LA Tech will host the series finale at 12:00 PM MT (1:00 local), from Scotty Robertson Memorial Gymnasium. NM State looks to improve on its three-match winning streak as five contests remain in the regular season. Saturday's bout will not be streamed, but it will be available to follow via nmstatestats.com/sports.
 
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